Contents

Plot

While returning from a daily inspection, Harold the helicopter spots a little diesel coming round the mountain. The diesel is Rusty, who has come to help on the Skarloey Railway. Despite his friendliness, Rusty has little time to chat and regards Harold as being cheeky after he said "Well done, cheers, and keep up the good work!" Peter Sam and Sir Handel are glad to see Rusty, but Sir Handel remains his usual grumpy self. The trucks dislike Sir Handel, and repeatedly play tricks on him, making him dislike working with them. One day, Gordon advises Sir Handel, that if he was ill, he could not shunt trucks.

Sir Handel, tired of dealing with trucks, takes the hint from Gordon of lying about being ill, and he readily does so the next day. With no time for examination on Sir Handel, Peter Sam and Rusty are allocating his trucks, but Peter Sam does not mind the extra work. They take the trucks to the slate quarry and the incline, a contraption that winches loaded trucks down a steep hill, the leverage pulling empty ones up, ready to be loaded with slate tiles. Peter Sam waits for his full ones at the bottom of the hill. But the loaded trucks mistake him for Sir Handel (despite the empty trucks' warning) and snap their metal chain coupling, zooming down the slope and crashing into Peter Sam. Rusty helps Peter Sam out of his mess, but the damage Peter Sam sustained has cracked his funnel and dented his boiler.

After Sir Handel apologises about the accident, the Fat Controller punishes him for lying about being sick and for not warning Peter Sam to stand well back since trucks didn't like him. Sir Handel is punished by being forced to both do his and Peter Sam's work at the same time. Instead of taking responsibility, Sir Handel decides to get revenge on Gordon.

After the wreckage has been cleared away, Rusty heads back home, where he spots Harold again. This time, Rusty mimics Harold from their previous meeting by using his phrase once more, "Well done, cheers, and keep up the good work!"

Goofs

When Harold speaks to Rusty, his battery latch is visible underneath him.

When Sir Handel shunts trucks, the audio is noticeably out of sync.

As Peter Sam puffs away with the trucks and coaches, he has Skarloey's whistle sound.

When the rope is connected to the empty trucks, it becomes taut like it is being pulled, but in the next scene, the trucks at the top of the slope are stationary.

The trucks' faces are missing when they crash into Peter Sam.

During the crash, the truck that breaks the water canal can be seen fading out of the shot.

When Sir Handel says, "I didn't think," his left eye sticks and drops back into his head.

Before Peter Sam leaves the yard with his coaches and trucks, a small piece of hair can be seen by his wheels.

Before Peter Sam is pulled out of the wreckage (which is not shown), his funnel is not cracked like it is later.

When the narrator says, "Not long now had encouraged the driver," the top of Rusty's engine is offscreen when it should be in-front of the cylinder above Rusty's number, and thus should have been onscreen.

When the narrator says, "He did so next morning," Percy quickly passes the little engines. In the next shot however, he is passing them again.

In a few rare pictures, Harold's spinning rotors are a transparent disk, unlike in the actual episode.

In the UK and international versions, Rheneas has Duke's whistle sound.

When Peter Sam backs his coaches onto Sir Handel's trucks, his front coach has a face, but when he leaves his coaches at the station, its face disappears.

Quotes

Harold: (finishing his inspection) All present and correct! Time to return to base.

Harold: I'm Harold. Who are you?

Rusty: I'm Rusty.

Harold: Don't recall seeing you before. What brings you this way?

Rusty: The Fat Controller sent me to help the other engines.

Harold: Well done, cheers, and keep up the good work!

Rusty: Cheeky Chopper!

Driver: Not long now, we'll soon be at the top station.

Gordon: No one understands our feelings, and if you were ill, you couldn't shunt trucks/cars, could you?

Sir Handel: Good idea! I'll try it!

Sir Handel: I don't feel well! (US: "I don't feel well at all!")

(the empty trucks on the incline believe Peter Sam is actually Sir Handel)

Full trucks: Faster! Faster!

Empty trucks: No! No! It's Peter Sam!

(a coupling snaps)

Full trucks: Hurrah! Hurrah!

(Peter Sam shuts his eyes, and the full trucks crash onto him, a channel of water also breaks)

Peter Sam: Peep! Peep!

Rusty: (arrives at the scene of the accident) Bust my buffers! Never mind, Peter Sam. We'll get you out.

(cut to a scene with a very battered Peter Sam. His funnel is cracked and his boiler is dented)